In The Holiday Spirit: A Merry Little Recording Session
by BlueViolets87
Summary: As a special Christmas present Cat's cousin lets her record a Christmas carol in his recording studio, and so she wouldn't be alone, she invites Jade. Based on Ariana and Liz's video of Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.


**If you are interested in the video in which this is based off of, the video is called _"Chestnuts" Merry Christmas! Love Ari and Liz!_ on Ariana Grande's channel. It's a really epically amazing video, and is totally worth checking out. Also, Happy New Year! 2013 for the win! (props to anyone who may know who else said that on their story today and who has a 2013 worded story)  
**

**Disclaimer: As cool as it would be, I don't own Victorious, "Chestnuts", the video or the actresses that sang the version the story is based upon.**

* * *

"Hey Jade!" Cat bounced up happily to her friend who was decorating her locker for the holidays a day before leaving on holiday break by putting a sprig of holly on the inside. Jade was very proud.

"What do you want Cat?" Jade said, closing her locker.

"Guess what! You'll never guess! I don't think you can guess!" Cat continued to bounce around as if her crazy Jupiter boots had morphed with her feet until Jade finally put one hand on her shoulder, grounding her. The reindeer antlers Cat was currently sporting stopped flopping around as well and just hung limply. Cat pushed them violently back up.

"I don't know Cat, you finally realized your brother's an alien and he is going to take you back to his planet?"

"No silly." Cat giggled. "Guess again!"

"You finally found the unicorn kingdom?"

"No... Not yet, it takes time. But anyways, you are such a bad guesser!"

"Yeah I've gotten that before." Jade replied dryly. "You have five seconds to tell me before I walk away."

Cat's eyes widened quickly as she thought of how to tell her news.

"Four, three two-"

"So you know my cousin?" Cat started. Jade thought for a second.

"The one selling peppers at the airport?"

"No the one who owns a recording studio! Remember you met him last year?"

"No." Jade bent down to grab her bag, and slung it around her shoulder.

"Well you did. So I was talking to him and as an early Christmas present he's letting me record a Christmas song in one of his studios. Can you believe it?"

Jade raised her eyebrows. "No way, really?"

"Yeah! Do you want to go with me?"

"Go with you to record an overplayed Christmas in your cousin's probably cheap, sketchy and rundown studio? Well, I don't know Cat..."

Cat's face began to resemble her antlers.

"Aw, I knew you wouldn't want to go. Now who will come with me? Tori and Andre already said no and-"

"Wait!" Jade interrupted sharply. "You went to Tori and Andre to ask them before you asked me? What, do you like them more? Are they better than me or something?"

"No!" Cat looked around panicked, not sure what to do. This was usually where Beck would come in, but the boy was no where in sight. "They were just there, and I didn't think you would want to and I just asked them and I'm sorry Jade!" She looked like she was close to tears.

Jade simmered down a little bit. "Why would you think I wouldn't want to? Christmas is the only holiday I actually like! I thought you knew that." Even the holiday bug would nestle in Jade's hair in December. It was the only time she could tolerate her family, and the only time they were all together for more than one hour without a major fight breaking out. She would never admit it but the joyous look that appeared on her little brother's face when he saw the couple of presents under the very traditional tree almost thawed her heart a little bit. She had once told Cat but not in great detail. Besides the little red head barely even remembered.

"So you do want to come?" Cat looked up at Jade quietly but curiously.

"Of course I do!" Jade almost shouted. It would be surprising that no one really noticed the exchange in any other school. However, this was Hollywood Arts, where they had been attending for some time. Most people were used to them by now though and just went about their day.

"Great!" Cat perked up almost immediately. "See you tomorrow!" She skipped away happily with Jade staring at her retreating back.

* * *

"Come on Cat, you're literally moving a foot a minute!" Jade yelled, frustrated with the slowpoke of a redhead that made up Cat Valentine. The girl in question sauntered through behind her.

"Did you know the lobby has a vending machines with fruit cups in it?" Cat gasped excitedly, holding one up and jiggling the cup so that the fruit inside sloshed around. "Fruit cups!"

Jade put her hand to her face and exasperatedly rubbed her eyes.

"Cat please tell me you didn't eat one. They could have been in there for months, maybe years."

Cat giggled nervously in response and attempted a seeming innocent smile. Jade didn't believe her for a second but Cat continued her smile, barely wavering it.

"But they are so good!" Jade sighed. As long as she didn't have to deal with Cat later, she wouldn't care. They had bigger and more interesting things to get done.

"Where's this cousin of yours anyway?" she asked, looking around. "Let's get this started already."

"Wow, someone's in a good mood!" Cat giggled again and poked her friends arm. Jade quickly swatted her away.

"Don't get used to it."

"Fruit cup?" Cat offered. Jade looked at her oddly.

"No! Who would want a months old fru-"

"Hey Cat!" A tall man, chin beginning to be tickled with hair, snuck up behind the short girl. "Oh! Is that one of the lobby's fruit cups?"

"You bet it is!" Cat hugged him and handed him one of the cups of fruit. "Jade this is my cousin Matt. Matt, this is my best friend Jade."

'Sup." Matt stuck out his free arm that wasn't occupied by old fruit. Jade tentatively took it and shook his hand, holding back a response that had to do with the rhyming names of the two cousins. "So are you girls ready for this?" he asked swallowing some fruit.

Cat nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I can't wait! This is my first time in a studio! I know it's going to be great."

"Sweet," Matt responded. "We may even be able to music video this!" Cat and Jade exchanged looks.

"As long as no one else sees this, you got it?" Jade said, narrowing her eyes. Matt agreed and after a look from Jade, Cat agreed as well.

"Alright." Matt clapped his hands. He had the same annoying energy as his cousin, Jade noticed. "So what song is going on?"

"Um..." Cat thought for a moment. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? That's my favorite!"

Jade wrinkled her nose. "Ugh no."

"Frosty the Snowman?"

"Anything not childish and lame about overly perky cartoons that irritate me?"

Cat looked a little put off but continued to think. "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire?"

Jade thought for a second. "Okay, let's do it."

"Really?" Cat blinked. She was expecting a larger fight.

"Yes, you happened to pick a good one that I know. Yay you. Now come on before I change my mind."

Matt led them to a small recording room with a bench, a couple of stools, a microphone and a few waters laying before the stools. There was a long wall in the back covered in a dark floral pattern that looked like it had been there for quite some time. Cat shrieked happily and ran over to the mic, abandoning her coat by the door. Jade carelessly tossed hers on top and walked over to her small friend, glancing around the room. Matt handed them copies of the song, just in case they forgot the words. He had a whole file of Christmas carols tucked under his arm.

"We can film in other parts of the studio building," he explained. "But the singing will be picked up in here. I'll give you guys a sec to get comfy." He left the room and went out by the soundboard. Cat and Jade put on the headphones left on the stools.

"Do you remember all the words?" Jade asked Cat.

Cat began to laugh. "You sound so muffled." Jade began to sigh, but she couldn't contain a small snort and smile as well. What could she say? It did sound funny.

Meanwhile another man in a Boston Red Sox sweatshirt walked up behind Matt, who greeted him. Matt pressed a button on the soundboard. "Girls, this is Kyle," he said. Kyle waved to the two girls, who waved back. "He's gonna help film." Cat gave a thumbs up before slipping into some vocal exercises. Jade began to quietly join in. She could feel the performing excitement jitters she would always get before a show and she began to relax. She was in a recording studio and it even wasn't very sketchy! Not to mention, she was singing one of her favorite Christmas songs. It was the only carol that warmed her up like coffee; her family had always sung it together when she was young. It was one of the only ones her dad would ever sing, something about promoting peace and goodwill or something like that.

She scanned over the sheet again before Matt's voice filled her ears. "You two ready?" They nodded.

The music began to replace his voice and flow through their bodies. Cat took a deep breath and held up the sheet for reference. Jade stood behind her with her arms folded, waiting for her turn. She glanced down at her friend's sheet. Somehow in the span of two minutes, it was covered in doodles of hearts, fire with smiley faces and mugs of most likely hot chocolate or as Jade hoped, coffee. She smiled fondly for her friend.

Cat leaned into the mic, beginning to sing.

_Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..._  
___

One week later, the first week of the New Year, school was back for the students. Friends greeted friends they hadn't seen for a week, and ones they perhaps saw yesterday and teachers began to prepare their classrooms again. Jade of course was doing neither. She was instead skidding through the halls in great pursuit.

"Cat!" she screamed down the hall. The girl peeked her head out of a doorway, hearing her name.

"Hey Jade. Happy New Year!"

"Cat, why is the video of us on Splashface?"

"Surprise! I thought we sounded really good and the video turned out so well so I uploaded it!"

"I have a reputation! I told you not to like five times before and after!"

"No, we have 656,425 views and 17,467 likes!"

Jade thought about it before sighing.

"Yeah... you're lucky... I was one of those likes..."

* * *

**In case you were wondering, the views and likes mentioned were the actual amount that I saw on the video right before I posted this. I know they probably did not have that many right after New Year but since I did not record the number then, I am using the most recent one I can find prior to this posting. I am not a time traveler, so please don't patronize me if the numbers are not the same as they are when you read this.**

**Matt (Squire) and Kyle (Anderson) actually helped with the video, however Matt is not actually Ariana's cousin I believe and I am pretty sure they all knew each other long before the making of the video.**

**Anyways I hope you enjoyed the story, or at least did not feel torturous to read. I apologize if it did, but it was your choice in the first place to read this...**

**Happy New Year everyone!**


End file.
